...revolutionized the study of natural sciences. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was not only popular during his time but it soon formed the foundation of modern scientific attempts to understand the origin and development of life on earth. Forming part of the reason for his success was his passionate personality concerning science and the nature in general. According to Gutek (1995, p.5), Darwin was a great naturalist whose theory exerted a profound outlook on the European as well as American intellectuals. For example, by questioning the traditional conceptions of human origin, the theory brought about changes in the manner of thinking among many intellectuals. Darwin’s personal accomplishments were shaped by a number of factors chief among them his early interest in nature. From childhood, Charles Darwin collected different things such as beetles and stones and carried out experiments together with his brother inside a garden shed. However, it is his five year voyage aboard HMS Beagle (1831-1836) which provided him with an opportunity to make observations and investigations that culminated in his theory of natural selection (Sulloway, 1982, p.1). Historical Context There are a number of historical events that significantly shaped Charles Darwin’s era and ultimately his ideologue. For example, although Charles Darwin was initially enrolled to study Medicine as his father preferred the career, he decided to change career and pursue natural history and geology...
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...significant contributions to the theories of evolution. It is very important to compare the individual lifestyles, contributions, and beliefs of Darwin and Wallace in order to develop a clear and comprehensive understanding of their concepts of natural selection in evolution. According to Janet Browne (2010) in her biography of Darwin, she describes the similarities in the life experiences of Darwin and Wallace that led them to independently arrive at the theory of natural selection. Both Wallace and Darwin were inspired by the readings such as Charles Lyell and Thomas Malthus. Browne notes that, “Even so, the parallels between Darwin’s and Wallace’s ideas are no less remarkable for their cultural symmetry. Their similarities are further demonstrated by them sharing similar geographical exploration and travel experiences and their mutual appreciations of their marvels of nature and overwhelming desire to comprehend them…” (Browne 2010: 357). The two theorists examined the concepts of natural selection independently until its publication. By the 1958, Darwin had already developed his idea on natural selection but had not published it as he was still collecting more evidence. After his previous research had been destroyed in his journey back to England from Brazilian Amazon, Wallace resumed his research on natural selection while at Archipelago which was marked by his famous “letter to Darwin” that contained an essay discussing a theory very similar to Darwin’s. The situation was very...
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...Evolution and Australian Species Evolution can be described as process of organisms developing from there earlier forms of life of life. Evolution firstly became an idea from a group of ancient Greek thinkers. But when trying to introduce these ideas to the residents of Europe, they believed this must be false, as they already believed in the interpretation of the bible. This idea of evolution only began to rise again when Jean-Baptiste Lamarck the French naturalist came up with a theory how organisms evolved, he believed that they evolved through their efforts to the response of the demand of their environment “Australia is home to many interesting phenomena, amongst them its weird and wonderful wildlife. 86% of plants, 84% of mammals and...
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...Natural Selection is the scientific theory first proposed by English Naturalist, Charles Darwin as an explanation for evolution. Darwin first became aware of the capability of this theory when he studied variation in plants and animals during a five-year voyage around the world in the 19th century. He noticed whilst in the Galapagos Islands that the habitat of certain finches on the island changed their physical characteristics. Darwin mainly focused on the shape of the finches beak according to their habitat, concluding that even though the finch had a common ancestor, their beak shaped evolved according the foods that they ate in their habitat. He continued the development of this theory by studying hundreds more plants and animals than on...
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...Pure Logic vs. Scientific Logic “Reasoning is an art, and reasoning about the natural world is the art that lies at the base of science” (Castel and Sismondo 55). Pure logic is “a form of reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity” (Oxford Dictionaries). In contrast, scientific logic is a form of reasoning in which a logical thought process is used to conduct experiments and research in order to reach a valid conclusion. Altogether, pure and scientific logic are different forms of reasoning used to solve everyday problems in life; yet, it is ‘scientific logic’ that is more prevalent in solving everyday problems, including critical interpretations of major problems on earth. Scientific logic is the best choice to cope with life problems in the midst of global issues; it helps facilitate our logical expertise in daily matters; it is both predictable and reliable; and on a greater scale, scientific logic helps us deal with the widespread problems on earth. With the growth of science and new emerging technologies, life is becoming more complicated, therefore relying purely on logic is insufficient. “Most of the time very little follows logically from what we know, and when we think that it does we learn that most of our knowledge consists of generalizations that don’t hold 100 percent of the time” (Castel and Sismondo 71). People live in a world of probability and because “scientific reasoning develops over time,” (Castel and Sismondo 74) they...
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...Charles Darwin was an English biologist who is best known for his contributions of natural selection to the theory of evolution and his interest in the Galapagos Islands due to the adaptation of species. Darwin’s career was highly influenced by his childhood. His family helped Charles with their financial and moral support aboard the H.M.S. Beagle, “the voyage [which] took nearly five years, from December 1831 to October 1836” (American Museum of Natural History). In particular, the Galapagos and South America greatly intrigued Darwin, where he discovered species such as, “the marine iguana, the giant tortoise, the finch, and the blue-footed booby” (Cappadocia). It was due to the research and persisting feeling on Darwin’s behalf that allowed him to come to the conclusion “that all [finches] came from one ancestral species”. Ultimately, this means that there must have been other species who have originated from one ancestral species. Darwin was extremely intelligent, and it was all due to this infamous man’s childhood. Charles Darwin was born on the 12th of February, 1809 in Shrewsbury of Shropshire, England. This was the birthdate for another important historical figure: Abraham Lincoln. Charles Darwin was born to Dr. Robert Darwin and Susannah Darwin. Darwin was quite rich as...
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...What is Darwinism? To understand the impact of this matter you must first know what it is and who Darwin was. Darwinism is “the theory of the evolution of species by natural selection advanced by Charles Darwin”, according to the Oxford University Press. Charles Darwin was an English naturalist who made major contributions to the theory of evolution. Charles Darwin’s writings were very significant in the scientific world, for a more specific example, his writing of the Origin of Species. The Origin of Species sparked huge national interest and the book’s first copies sold out quicker than they appeared. Although many saw this work as a step towards improvement in understanding of evolution, it also brought with it much opposition. Darwin’s...
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...DARWIN VS LAMARCK Evolution is a process of change, modern theories of evolution state that all living organisms share a common origin. It is the slow process that changes animals and plants with modification. Small modifications occur at the genetic level in DNA with each generation. These genetic changes can alter the characteristics of the population and as new species appear. The aim of this seminar is to inform the audience on the various theories of evolution such as Darwin and Lamarck and how their evidence is supported or disregarded. Naturalist Charles Robert Darwin was born in Shrewsbury 1809, Darwin embarked on a five year survey voyage around the world on the HMS beagle. His studies of specimens around the globe led him to formulate...
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...History of Evolution The word "evolution" in its broadest sense refers to change or growth that occurs in a particular order. Although this broad version of the term would include astronomical evolution and the evolution of computer design, this article focuses on the evolution of biological organisms. That use of the term dates back to the ancient Greeks, but today the word is more often used to refer to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. This theory is sometimes crudely referred to as the theory of "survival of the fittest." It was proposed by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species in 1859 and, independently, by Alfred Wallace in 1858—although Wallace, unlike Darwin, said the human soul is not the product of evolution. Greek and medieval references to "evolution" use it as a descriptive term for a state of nature, in which everything in nature has a certain order or purpose. This is a teleological view of nature. For example, Aristotle classified all living organisms hierarchically in his great scala naturae or Great Chain of Being, with plants at the bottom, moving through lesser animals, and on to humans at the pinnacle of creation, each becoming progressively more perfect in form. It was the medieval philosophers, such as Augustine, who began to incorporate teleological views of nature with religion: God is the designer of all creatures, and everything has a purpose and a place as ordained by Him. In current times, to some, the terms "evolution" and "God"...
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...Introduction: Charles Darwin's revolutionary theory has changed the way we see society, ethics and religion. It has cause multiple problems within religion. What Darwin directly challenged was the view that God had originally created all species of plant and animal life, just as they exist today. The ongoing debate about the most valid perception of the world's origins has troubled both the scientific and religious communities, causing, in many cases, intense conflicts and misconceptions. The goal of the current academic essay is to investigate the compatibility between the scientific theory of evolution and the christian beliefs about the origin of human kind. I will also research the philosophical foundations of Christianity and Darwinism...
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...between the islands is hot and cold, giving it a good diversity, which means there is a variety in living organisms in that area. Life is everywhere on the islands because the animals have learnt to adapt to the conditions, this means that over time, an animal has change in order to fit in with its environment. A few examples of the animals on the islands are the Galápagos sea lion, the Galápagos land iguana, the marine iguana, the red, red rock crab, the white-tip reef shark, the brown pelican and flamingos. The islands are famous for their large number of endemic species, also because they were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. The group of islands are split into the main islands and the minor islands. There are 18 main islands, these are: Baltra Island, Bartolomé Island, Darwin Island, Espanola Island, Fernandina Island, Floreana Island, Genovesa Island, Isabela Island, Marchena Island, North Seymour Island, Pinzón Island, Pinita Island, Rábida Island, San Cristóbal Island, Santa Cruz Island, Santa Fé Island, Santiago Island, and finally Wolf Island. The minor Islands are: Daphne Major, South Plaza Island, and finally the Nameless Island. The islands are pushed to the west because of the movement in tectonic plates, these move the islands an inch or two a year, so the oldest Galapagos Islands are in the west and the youngest are in the...
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...ENG121 Evolution vs. Creationism The debate between evolutionism and creationism began thousands of years ago and the battle between the two streams of thought continues to this day. While creationists believe in a god who is the absolute creator of heaven and earth less than 10,000 years ago, evolutionists believe that the universe began billions of years ago with life started as just a single cell bacteria evolving slowly into everything we see today. “What’s the difference between creationism and evolution?” Charles Darwin’s work on evolution is the most recognized throughout history and the evidence that he discovered supporting evolution changed how many people viewed the history of our universe. His main research project was on a process called natural selection, the idea that survival of the fittest has been a main determinant is shaping how the earth and all living things appear today. Charles Darwin discuses this idea of Natural Selection in his essay “Natural Selection”, detailing evidence supporting his theory. This paper will discuss Darwin’s essay but will also go into further detail of his discoveries, other evolutionary milestones and finally comparing and contrasting the evolutionary argument to the creationism point of view. The idea of evolution first came about in the 1600’s when European naturalists started to question the current theories about how our universe was created. In 1666 the first evidence of evolution was discovered when a couple of fishermen...
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...science; his famous theory of evolution. He also contributed to the market and command economy with his belief, "survival of the fittest." Charles Darwin's contribution to science has been a very controversial one. He stated that each generation will improve adaptively over the preceding generations, and this gradual and continuous process is the source of the evolution of species. Natural selection is only part of Darwin's theory. He also introduced the concept that all related organisms are descended from common ancestors. His theory was first announced in 1858 in a paper. Darwin's complete theory was published in 1859, in On the Origin of Species. This book is often referred to as "the book that shook the world. The Origin sold out on the first day of publication and subsequently went through six editions. Charles Darwin also contributed to the Market economy with his belief "survival of the fittest." In a free enterprise system, it is believed that the best will survive while the less efficient will collapse if the market is allowed to work without government interference. In a market economy, since the government has very little control of the businesses, the companies must work their hardest and come out with good products that will outsell the ones of their competition. Social Darwinism basically means that the strong will control the weak. Social Darwinism comes from the laws of natural selection as Darwin had stated. According to his theory, which was very popular...
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...Darwin and the Theory of Evolution Darwin’s theory of evolution is based on three observations: First, individuals within a species vary from one another in morphology, physiology, and behavior. Second, variation is in some part inheritable so that variant forms have offspring that resemble them. Third, different variants leave different number of offspring. Darwin elaborates on the mechanism of evolution by suggesting that in the struggle for existence, nature selects those individuals who are best suited for the struggle, and these individuals in turn reproduce more than those who are less fit, therefore changing the composition of the population. Darwin also suggests, in addition to natural selection, that species evolve through the process of sexual selection. In sexual selection, one gender of a species develops a preference for individuals of the other gender who possess certain features. The individuals who possess these features will the have a reproductive advantage over others, resulting in a greater number of offspring, causing yet another change in the composition of the population. Darwin made the theory of evolution feasible by providing the mechanisms of natural selection and sexual selection. His observations led him to believe that species did adapt to their changing surroundings. As a result, he was led to defend a theory advancing the probability of common descent for all living creatures. In The Origin of Species, Darwin analyzes the various...
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...Theory of Evolution Charles Darwin was a British Scientist who lived from 1809 to 1882. He laid down the foundation of modern evolutionary theory with his concept of the development of life through the slow working process of natural selection. Darwin started to make notes about this theory in 1836 and in 1838 he had arrived at a sketch of a theory of evolution through natural selection. It was not until 1858 that his theory was first published in a paper. Darwin’s theory states that as plants or animals spread to new areas, or as the conditions change different variations would be favored in different places. This would mean these variations would spread through the populations of the plants or animals. Over time this would finally lead to a development of new species. This theory was explained in the book ‘The Origin of Species’, which describes his studies on the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. He noticed that the species on the islands varied slightly from each island and were adapted to local conditions. The reaction to this theory was immediate. Biologists argued that Darwin could not prove his hypothesis. Others criticized his ideas of variation and how he could not prove how these variations came about or how they were passed on. This part of his theory was not answered until the birth of modern genetics in the early 20th century. In fact many scientists had doubts about this theory for 50-80 years. The most publicized attacks came from religious opponents who...
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